Progress Report #45

I finished the second pass through Chapter 20, which ends with me walking toward the street where I’m going to spend the next three months, sleeping in bushes and alleys and hunting for food. Before I can begin work on the next chapter, I have to sort through my notes. It was a hectic, fear-filled period, and while I’ve written down a bunch of memories, they’re scatter shot. I have to find a plausible order for them.

After I finish each chapter, I hand it to Judy, who used to be a copy editor at Prentice Hall. Most of what she’s reading, I’ve never told a soul. Ever. It’s all very much out of the ordinary, and it causes me some anxiety to finally be telling these stories. Occasionally I study her face as she reads. So far, so good.

“I’ve never told a soul. Ever…It gives me some anxiety to finally be telling these stories.” I think it’s a good sign when a writer (or ANYONE) gives up his self-protectiveness and stops clenching the past–just opens his hand and lets it go free.